Mazel tov (or čestitam) to the residents of Croatia! The Adriatic nation “became the 28th member of the European Union on Monday, a seminal moment for the small, predominantly Catholic country some 20 years after it won independence in the bloody wars of the Balkans,” The New York Timesreports. The New York Times will think of something better than “bloody wars” to reference on the congratulatory card.

The acquisition of Croatia makes a fine addition to the financially debilitated E.U.: the beachy, boozy tourism destination, whose 2012 G.D.P. was less than the net worth of Bill Gates, is “in recession and is suffering from unemployment of 21 percent,” the Times notes. On the other hand, the Web site CroatiaSpringBreak.com, which appears to be operated by a Slovenia travel agency, urges readers to visit Croatia and “[e]xperience a unique adventure with your friends, as in the upcoming movie Spring Breakers!”

What economic powerhouse will join the E.U. next: the savings account of a 25-year-old living in Manhattan? The United States Postal Service? The Slovenian travel agency behind CroatiaSpringBreak.com?